Evil is all around me

Kristin Scott Thomas and director Ian Rickson last worked together on 2013's lauded staging of Old Times at The Harold Pinter Theatre. The same critical plaudits will no doubt be in order for their new collaboration, a re-telling of Sophocles' timeless tale of bloody revenge. This version comes courtesy of playwright Frank McGuinness, whose work has been characterised as possessing thoroughly Chekhovian darkness.

Kristin Scott Thomas is one of England's finest actresses, equally at home on the stage or the screen. She won an Olivier Award for her role in Royal Court Theatre's production of the Seagull and a Bafta for her performance in Four Weddings and a Funeral. She has always favoured parts in smaller, challenging films, recently blowing audiences away as the terrifying mother to Ryan Gosling's Julian in Only God Forgives.

What is Electra About?

The play begins with Orestes returning to Greece, his mind set on avenging the death of his father Agamemnon. His intended targets are his own mother and her lover Aegisthus, who began their love affair while Agamemnon was away in the Trojan wars and killed him upon his return. Aiding Orestes in his mission is his sister, the eponymous Electra.

In the Round

Electra is part of The Old Vic's In the Round season. Repeating the transformation which first took place in 2008, thousands of seats have been stripped away and reconfigured into a circular auditorium, resulting in a whole new theatre going experience.